India Cryptocurrency Ban Unlikely, Says CEO Of Exiled Zebpay

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The CEO of Zebpay, which left India due to banking restrictions, says the rumored cryptocurrency blanket-ban is unlikely to happen. Ajeet Khurana was talking as the company announced the opening of a new headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. 

Nobody Who Could Ban It Has Said They Will

Speaking to Australian news site Micky, Khurana said that he had heard of the rumored ban through various media outlets. However, over the past year, he has met with all the top stakeholders in the Ministry of Finance, the central bank, and securities regulators. Despite a certain level of apprehension around crypto in some quarters, he has never heard talk of banning it:

…it’s very interesting that the people who could ban it, have never said they will ban it.

Of course, it’s easy to draw such conclusions when you no longer have skin in the game.

Zebpay Ceased Trading In India Due To RBI Ban

As Bitcoinist reported, last October Zebpay shut up shop in India and moved to the more crypto-friendly climes of Malta. It had previously been India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. This was blamed at the time on the Reserve Bank of India’s contested ban on banks providing services to crypto-companies.

Khurana said that the decision to leave India was one of the hardest he’s ever had to make.

I was lost for words, it was horrible actually. I found it an extremely difficult decision to make.

Zebpay has since expanded to over 130 countries, although the announced Australian headquarters is only its second physical presence. Khurana cites Malta and Australia as leading the world in clarity of cryptocurrency regulation. Australia’s large domestic market was also a factor in his decision.

Zebpay isn’t the only Indian crypto-company looking elsewhere for business. Yesterday, Bitcoinist reported on Wipro, who have been working to provide an interbank clearing solution for the Thai Central Bank.

One must hope that the Indian regulation debacle quickly finds a positive conclusion so that such homegrown talent doesn’t abandon the country completely.

What do you think about the state of cryptocurrencies in India? Let us know in the comments below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock.

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